


A blessing in disguise

by Iftheworldisadarkplace



Category: X-Men (Movieverse), X-Men - All Media Types
Genre: Emotional Hurt/Comfort, F/M, M/M, Telekinesis, Telepathy, Warm and Fuzzy Feelings, X-Men: Dark Phoenix (2019), Xavier Institute, Young Jean Grey
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-04-22
Updated: 2020-04-22
Packaged: 2021-03-01 22:48:38
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,092
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/23664889
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Iftheworldisadarkplace/pseuds/Iftheworldisadarkplace
Summary: How fast and tragic her life turned after one month: The car crash, the death of her parents and the next thing she knew, she was all alone. An orphan no one wanted, a eight-year-old little girl who was told that she was ‘special’ and must belong to the place where special children lived.‘Mutant’, that’s what she is. And Xavier’s School For Gifted Youngsters is her new home from now on. Everything happened remind Jean that her life will never be the same again.
Relationships: Hank McCoy/Charles Xavier, Jean Grey/Charles Xavier, Jean Grey/Ororo Munroe
Kudos: 9





	A blessing in disguise

**Author's Note:**

> This is just a small fic that was lovingly dedicated to Professor X and young Jean Grey, and their father-daughter, mentor-student relationship. My bestie said there is not enough fanfiction stories that focuse on our beloved Professor and his School of Mutant Children, so I decided to write one. 
> 
> Jean Grey is my favourite X-Men character beside Gambit, Iceman and Angel, but I never really wrote any fanfics of her. (I dont know why, I guess it's because I wasnt confident enough). Well, here it is (finger-crossed). After that scenes of little Jean with Prof X in Dark Phoenix, I really wanted to write something that is heart-warming about them. This lockdown time is difficult to all of us, I hope everyone is safe and healthy until the pandemic is over.

7 o’clock in the morning. 

The distant drum of the rain against the old shutters waked Jean up from her sleep, jus a few minutes before her usual alarm clock went off. She waited for her dream to recede as it always did, then slowly sat up on the bed. The room smelled of old books and wood. The plaster ceiling was painted a soothingly cream colour, and it took her a few seconds to remember she was not in her own bedroom at home. 

It was raining heavily outside the old mansion. “A gloomy Saturday morning. This is never a good sign”, Jean thought as she shut the alarm and got out of bed to do the morning routine. She called it a ‘sacred ritual’, it was something that her Dad said the first time he taught her how to brush her teeth in front of the mirror. Later that, they would have breakfast with pancakes and chocolate milk, and her Mom would take her to school. The old happy days. 

How fast and tragic her life turned after one month: The car crash, the death of her parents and the next thing she knew, she was all alone. An orphan no one wanted, a eight-year-old little girl who was told that she was ‘special’ and must belong to the place where special children lived.

'Mutants', that's what she is. And Xavier's School For Gifted Youngsters is her home from now on. Everything happened remind Jean that her life will never be the same again.

It was quiet and peaceful in the hallway when she went to the canteen to have breakfast, since there was a “no one is up early on the weekend” rule that every student followed. She would count herself as a ‘freak’, and was always up in the same hour everyday. This helped her save her time from standing in the waiting lines.

-It’s beautiful, isnt it?

A voice behind her back startled her, and Jean turned around. A girl was leaning against the windowsill, her eyes gazed up at the grey sky, watching the pouring rain. Jean’s first thought was that the girl looked like a fairy, maybe because her irises were a shade of dark purple and her thin, delicated feature.

-What? - Jean was dumbfounded, holding her book close to her chest. She hated situation like this. In her mind, responding to a small talk was stressful and an extremely waste of time.

The other girl did not seem to notice her annoyed expression. She placed her palm on the cold glass of the window, then gave Jean the brightest smile she had. Her voice sounded like she was singing, such a sweet melody to the ears: 

-The rhythm. Don’t you listen to it? Everything has rhythm, but not everyone pays attention to it. 

-Yeah, right… It’s amazing. – Jean reluctantly replied, trying to hide her awkwardness and pretending to understand the words. Better just smile and get it over with. 

After a moment of silence, the girl laughed softly and held out her gloved hand in a friendly manner.

-I’m Greta. You must be that new girl. What’s your name, friend? 

-Jean Grey. Nice to meet you – Jean shook her hand, feeling a surge of warmth running through her body. It’s like electricity.– How long have you been here, Greta?

-Nearly one year. My parents abandoned me on the highway in a stormy night after they found out my eyes had turned purple, just like my grandma, who was a fortune teller. She could see the past of everything and everyone she touched. Her family despised her, and they did the same to me. Professor Xavier found me when I was caught stealing food from a grocery. He took me here, gave me a place to stay. Taught me how to control my abilites. I guess, it was him who found you too?

Jean nodded. The memory of that day was still fresh in her mind like it was just yesterday, the Professor in the wheelchair told her that she was not a lost cause. There’s nothing wrong with her to be fixed, because she was not broken. She believed in it, the way a little child believed that her parents would give her a candy cane if she was being a good kid. 

But that was for a normal child, not a mutant one. Not the one who could hear thoughts and make things fly in chaos whenever she was angry or upset.

-Well, you are here now. You’re gifted. Just like all of us – Greta said with an approving smile, when they walked down to the canteen together. The girl had decided that Jean needed companionship, in which Jean did not protest. – Don’t you mind me if I ask what is your power?

This question made Jean feel nervous. Even herself still could not quite understand her own abilities or properly grasped a control of them. It terrified her of how easily it took for her to get an outburst and accidentally hurt everyone else.

-I can read other people’s thoughts and move objects with my mind.

She braced herself for a surprised or hatred look from Greta, but the other girl did not seem to bother.

-You’re a telepath, just like Professor Xavier. It must be hard for you, hearing all those voices in your head.

-It’s okay, I got used to it now. It’s not that bad like everyone said.

She lied. It’s like having a version of Hell in your mind.

When the two girls reached to the canteen, there was a group of boys was already there, chatting and laughing outloud. Jean clutched her books tightly and held her head low, their whispers made she wish she could disappear right away. She knew too well they were talking about her. The freak in town. 

One of the boys, the big and tall one with ridiculous orange hair approached her and Greta, his menacing grin sent a shiver down Jean’s spine. She kept her eyes on the ground, walking faster. The boy blocked her way. 

-Want to go somewhere? – He teased her with a laugh. Jean flinched, trying her best to keep her feet steady. 

-Leave it, Dan – Greta stepped in to stand between them, shielding Jean behind her back. Dan snarled like a hideous snake, and other boys started to form a circle around them. They were all waiting for the fun, Jean shut her eyes and pressed her palms to her ears in a desperate effort to block out their nasty thoughts. It did not work, though.

-Being a hero, huh, Greta? Since when did you begin to protect this freak?

-She killed her own parents! - One of Dan's minions exclaimed, which drew everyone's gazes at her. She was in a great pain, it was like her whole body was being burned alive. All the whispers grew louder and louder until there was nothing else in her mind except voices.

_Come on. Breathe. Just breathe._

Someone violently yanked Jean by her collar, and she stumbled, dropping her books on the floor. Dan swiftly picked them up, when she reached for them, he held them over his head, taunting her. She was trapped, helplessly begging him to stop and let her go. Her mind was burning alarmingly, she knew the longer they kept doing this, the sooner things would go down badly for them. 

-Let’s see what we have here then. – Dan opened her one of the books and read outloud a poem of her that she wrote, which made other boys laugh – Wow, how talented you are, Jean. For a freak. How ‘bout we burn this, hmm? This is meaningless.

 _NO._

Jean was crouching on the ground, hugging her knees and shaking as if she was in a high fever. Her power was wrecking inside like a trapped beast, and she could barely hold the chain. Greta snatched the books back from his hands, grunting angrily: 

-You fool! That’s enough. Leave her alone or I will poke your fucking eyes out. 

-I dont think you have the guts to do that – Dan replied with a chuckle – Now, move, Princess.

-No. You’re not worthy to even step through that door, and I will tell the Professor what you did. You’ll be expelled with shame. 

_STOP._

It was too late. The glasses of the windows around them cracked and splintered, and Dan was flung across the room by an invisible force. He let out a painful yelp when his body slammed hard against the wall and hit his head. Other students started to scream and pushed their ways to get out of the canteen. 

Everything was in a chaos. And the centre of the storm was Jean Grey, who had crawled into a corner and sobbed, curling into a ball. The sharp pieces of the flying glass did not cut her, but everyone else got hurt. Their panicky thoughts and feelings mixed with fear and anger filled her head, cutting like thousand knives. 

That was the scene when Hank and Storm rushed to the canteen, and it made them shock for a few minutes. Greta held her own bleeding arm, her purple eyes looking at Storm were surprisingly calm. 

-Ms. Munroe, please help Jean. She didnt mean to do this, I swear. It was Dan – she said, pointing to the corner behind the curtain – She is there.

Storm nodded, putting her hand on the girl’s shoulder. 

-I see. You need medical treatment now, little girl. Hank, - She turned to her colleague, who was trying his best to calm the students – Help Greta and others out, and check on Dan too. And call Professor. 

They exchanged an understanding look, before Hank took the students out to the door and carried a panic-stricken Dan in his arms. The boy’s forehead was bruised and bleeding, and he was crying like a 5 year-old child.

After the room was quiet again, Storm went over to Jean and sat down beside her, gently caressing her back as if the little girl was a small sparrow. It took Jean an awful lot of minutes to finally calm down, wiping her teary eyes and looking up at her teacher. 

-I’m sorry... I... I cant control it... – she said shakily, knowing that she messed up big time – I’m sorry... 

She buried her face between her knees. Storm pulled Jean into her arms and helped her up slowly, stroking the little girl’s long red hair. 

-You’re alright, Jean. It’s okay. Come on, let’s get out of here.

Charles met Hank in his lab, the bright light made his pale and tired face look a little bit better. After a week staying up late till the morning to work on his new project and took care of his advanced training class, the Professor was running out of strength. He could barely get out of bed when Hank’s urgent knocks on the door woke him up. Hank would never call him up on a Saturday morning unless there was something extremely bad happened inside the mansion, or Magneto planned a mass genocide on humans again. Whatever it was, it came to him who had ‘unique’ power and knowledges to handle the problems.

The Headmaster. The leader. The wise Professor X. These were his role, and he always had to remind himself that a lot of people were relying on him. And he could not let himself rest.

Hank informed him about the incident in the canteen, and told him it was lucky that no students were severely injured. Dan only got some bruises, he was a tough kid and would soon recover. But the mental trauma would stay with him for a while, which Hank hoped it would teach him a hard lesson.

Charles knew he had a lot of questions about Jean Grey, but they had been friends and colleagues for so long that Hank also knew he’d better not to ask. Something are meant to leave as a secret.

Before Charles rolled his wheelchair out of the lab, Hank put a hand on his shoulder. He stopped, and his bestfriend looked at him in the eye:

-Don’t be angry at Jean – Hank said in a gentle tone – She is a sensitive child. Be patient with her, Charles.

Charles nodded and smiled, slightly patting Hank’s arm.

-I always am, Hank.

Jean was sitting on the couch in the Professor’s study room, looking around with curiousity. Everything smelled of old books and wood, like her own bedroom, and she loved it. The window was opened to let the warm sunlight in, and it shone upon the chess board with beautiful chess pieces on the table. The little girl stood up and went over to admire it, since she had never seen any chess set as pretty as this one that the Professor had before. She moved the pieces, playing with them for a few minutes, then picked up the heavy Astrology book that was placed nicely in front of her. The weight and smell of old pages made her grin happily.

This room was just like her Dad’s study room at home, and she missed it. She missed her home.

- _“It is the province of knowledge to speak, and it is the privilege of wisdom to listen”. Oliver Wendell Holmes Sr_ \- The Professor’s voice echoed between four walls, and it startled her a little bit. She was still getting used to his way of saying “Hello, Jean”.

-I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to… - Jean stammered, putting the book down. 

Charles gave her a reassuring smile, rolling his wheelchair across the room to the other side of the table. He motioned her to sit down, then picked up the book again and gave it to her. 

-You can keep it. I already read it twice. It’s nice to know someone that has interest in astrology in an early age like you.

-Thanks, Professor. - Jean hugged the precious gift close to her chest, as if she was scared he would change his mind and take it back - You gave me too much nice things. Your pen. Your book. This place for me to live. Don't you remember that I said I break things? I broke your windows and hurted other kids. Will I be expelled?

Charles leaned forwards, looking at her with his blue eyes that was so kind and warm. He had the most beautiful eyes that she had ever seen in a person.

-And I also told you, if you break something, I’ll fix it – He said slowly – And I wont stop helping you, Jean. Do you trust me? 

-But why me? What is it so special about me? 

Charles leaned back on his chair, his eyes distractedly wandered to the far end of the room, looking at the ghosts of his past.

-Because I made a promise. When I opened this school, I had a purpose: Is to give kids like you a home. A place where you can learn everything about your powers, and how you will use them in the future, as I said the first day I met you, is entirely up to you. I’m looking at you now, Jean, and I know you will become a great person. I believe in that. 

Jean looked down at her hands, and Charles heard a soft sigh. 

-What if you’re wrong? – she whispered – What if I became someone bad? 

She kept her eyes on the tips of her shoes until she felt a hand on her back, and looked up just to see the Professor right beside her. He was nothing like the image of a Headmaster that she thought, but she was unable to tell why. She only knew that it was so easy to trust him without hestitation or doubt, but there was something else. Something about the way he suddenly trailed off and his eyes went dark for a brief moment, all his composure lost. He looked like someone who had been scarred by grief and pain, but those scars were carefully covered and guarded. 

But they were both telepaths, and she always felt the presence of sadness even when he smiled. She just could not understand why. 

-You wont, Jean. – He said softly – Greta told me the truth, and Dan will get discipline for his action. We will need more training to help you control your abilities and emotions, but no one blames you this time.

Jean nodded, relaxing in the comfort of the Professor’s voice. She was quiet for a moment, then looked up at him again. 

-Professor, can I ask you a question? 

-Yes. What is it? 

-Did you ever fail? – she asked, reluctantly, watching his expression – I mean, with a student like me before? 

It was an unexpected question. Charles furrowed his brow, but he did not appear to be angry at the little girl. He was just lost for words. 

-I did. And it was a long time ago – He replied, feeling a lump in his throat as he spoke – I failed them.  
-Did they become bad guys? 

-No, not really… No. But they made their choices, whether I liked it or not. And I will stop them if they ever cross the line and hurt people again. 

Jean frowned, trying to digest the words that the Professor just said. 

-I’m sorry – She was not sure what else to say to make him feel better. 

He gave her a fatherly smile. 

-Thanks, Jean. There’s one thing I can promise you, is that I will never fail you. You will be safe here. This is your new home. 

A new home. A new beginning. Her life will never be the same again, and the past is the past. She had to let it go, she knew that, and embraced the unknown future.

Charles was about to ask if Jean felt alright, before the little girl wrapped her arms around his neck and gave him a kindly hug. He froze, then sighed and slowly hugged her back. 

-Thank you, Professor. For everything. – She smiled, letting go of him and picking up the book – Can I sit here for a while and read, please? I will be quiet, I promise. Those girls next to my room wont stop singing and it really gets on my nerves.

For the first time after days, the Professor laughed softly. 

-The couch is yours. I’m going to make a cup of tea. Earl grey. You want one with biscuit? 

Jean grinned brightly and nodded. 

She is home, finally.

**Author's Note:**

> I always love how British Professor X is, even though he is born American. Couldn't end the story without the tea part. 
> 
> Earl Grey is also my favourite kind of tea. (Aside from Strawberry tea)


End file.
